Confinement
by MarieofIlledra
Summary: SGA-1, plus Drs. Beckett and Wier, get trapped by an earthquake in quite close quarters. Slight Sparkyness and Royla.


"This is so _completely _typical," Muttered Rodney, his voice muffled by the wall he was pressed up against. "Hey, are you guys all okay?" He asked more loudly.

"We are fine." Teyla responded through the wall between them.

"Just peachy." John's voice sounded strange coming through the wall on Rodney's other side.

"What the hell happened?" Carson's voice was unnaturally loud in the tiny space, and Rodney jumped instinctively.

"Earthquake. Quite sudden, actually."

"Aye, I had guessed that much, but how did we end up in here?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. "I shoved you in here just _seconds_ before the roof caved in. Then...I didn't have time to get to another room." He grunted as Carson shifted slightly and jabbed him in the stomach with an elbow. "Stay still, will you? That hurt!"

"It's not my fault you got us trapped in a bloody closet! There's hardly enough room for one person in here, much less two!"

Rodney sighed impatiently. "Thus why it did not collapse with the larger rooms. Its the same general concept as standing under a door frame. If you would have preferred being _crushed_ to death outside..."

Carson sighed slightly as Rodney overbalanced while turning around and fell against him heavily. It was a good thing Carson was shorter, or their faces would be mashed together. "No, I suppose not. Thank you for rescuing me, then."

"Yes, well. Appreciate it while you can, because next time I'm rescuing Elizabeth or Teyla."

Rodney could sense John's grin, even through the thick walls. "But then who would Carson snuggle with? Ouch!" Apparently, Elizabeth had hit him.

"At least Carson takes up less room than Ronon." Teyla inserted helpfully. Ronon growled slightly, and she fell abruptly silent before a small laugh escaped their closet.

Rodney's jaw dropped, nearly hitting Carson. "Did Teyla just _giggle_? Oh my god, I so do _not_ want to know what is going on in there." He muttered, instinctively trying to cross his arms and instead brushing a hand across Carson's thigh.

"Rodney!" Carson yelped, voice slightly higher than usual. "Keep your bloody hands off me!"

"Sorry! Sorry! That was completely unintentional!"

In the closet to their right, Elizabeth ducked her head to avoid meeting John's gaze, intent on keeping herself from laughing. To her dismay, in such close quarters it was proving impossible. He shook with silent laughter, and despite her best intentions, she felt herself unable to hold back her own amusement. She bit her lip and tried with all her might not to laugh. John smirked. "I always wondered when McKay would come out of the closet. Poor Carson..." he whispered quietly, and Elizabeth lost control completely, burying her head in John's chest in a useless attempt to muffle her laughter. John grinned triumphantly and curled his other arm around her, drawing her just-so-slightly closer.

Carson groaned aloud as he heard Elizabeth's chuckles. "I am never going to live this down. How long until a rescue team is sent?"

McKay sighed. "At least an hour, we weren't supposed to check in for another forty minutes, and they will wait for a bit before sending a rescue team. Are we sure these rooms are stable? Because as you well know, I tend to get very claustrophobic, and...oh, god! We are going to die! I knew-"

Carson shoved against him as hard as he could, succeeding in knocking him backwards all of a centimeter. "Rodney, listen to me. You need to not panic, okay? These rooms are perfectly stable. Let's just...here, if we both shift to the right, maybe we can get a bit more space in here..."

Several long seconds later, a loud thump followed by louder curses echoed in their tiny space.

"Carson! Get off me!" Rodney whined.

"I can't get up with you sitting on my hands! There's no leverage!"

"I don't- _don't put your hand there!_"

At Rodney's indignant cry, Teyla and Ronon shared a long look before Ronon, too, succumbed to mirth. Teyla made an ineffectual swatting motion at him, which he blocked easily in the small space. "Rodney and Carson will not appreciate your laughter," she whispered, but her smile widened as she took in the sight of Ronon's rare smile.

"Don't care."

Teyla shrugged, unable to argue with that reasoning. "It is good to see you laughing." She observed more seriously. His laughter slowly died as he gazed down at her.

"I like this."

She raised an eyebrow. "Being stuck in a closet?"

He grinned but nodded teasingly. "Why not? You are all safe and out of harms way for a change, its fairly comfortable, and the company's good..."

She shot him an amused glance. "Very well... you do not think you will get restless if stuck in here much longer?"

He shrugged. "I'm sure that I would, eventually. For now, I'm good though." He smiled almost shyly at her.

She simply smiled back and leaned against him further, allowing his arms to encircle his waist.

An hour and a half later, Major Lorne and the rescue team climbed tentatively into the remains of the room they had been studying. "Col. Sheppard? Dr. Wier?" Lorne called.

"Oh thank god!" Exclaimed Carson "Major Lorne! Over here!"

"Dr. Beckett?" He queried, moving rapidly towards the mostly blocked doorway.   
"Aye, and Rodney too."

"Col. Sheppard and I are here as well." Elizabeth added from behind her own door.

"Ronon and myself are over here."

"It's good to hear that you are all alive, you caused quite a panic back home." Lorne's voice was torn between exasperation and relief. "Give us half a second to dig you out..."

The first door they opened revealed a sheepish Elizabeth Wier cradled protectively in John's arms. He grinned smugly as they stepped out, keeping one arm around her shoulders. Major Lorne raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "Good to see you both in one piece, sir."

Elizabeth blushed, but made no attempt to remove his arm. John grinned like a child on Christmas morning. "Did anyone bring a camera? Because trust me, you will want it when you see what's behind door number two."

A slightly confused Marine nodded and handed him a small digital camera just as they finished digging away the rubble that had sealed Carson and Rodney into their room. The entire room cracked up at the sight of the usually dignified medical doctor and the irritable Dr. McKay squashed awkwardly into a half crouch in an attempt to put as much space between their faces as possible.

"It's about bloody time!" Exclaimed Carson, half falling out of the closet in his eagerness to be free. The closest marine reached out a hand to steady him, and Carson impulsively grabbed him into a hug. "I can honestly say I've never been this happy to see any of you!"  
Rodney scowled at them all. "Could you have taken any longer getting here? I could have _died_ you know."

They ignored him, all attention turning to the door which concealed the third pair. A few quick moments of digging, and Ronon pushed the door open before they could. He and Teyla stepped casually out of the enclosed space, apparently completely comfortable with their audience.

"Thank you for the rescue, Major Lorne." Teyla smiled and stretched slightly, while Ronon nodded but otherwise ignored the group.

Everyone's faces fell. No fun reactions or good stories to tell? Of course, neither of them had ever expressed discomfort at standing in each others personal space, so the long exposure hadn't actually been that usual for them. Still, they all studied them carefully. Were they standing closer together than usual? John in particular did not seem convinced at their cavalier exit.

Teyla seemed to sense their mood, raising an eyebrow in challenge. "Shall we proceed back home? I believe that some of you have pictures to distribute." Her grin was slightly evil.

Rodney and Carson fixed her with identical glares. Beside her, Ronon straightened and glared back. They instantly looked away. John's eyebrows shot up. That was new. Huh. He glanced sideways at Elizabeth, who raised an eyebrow in return. She shot an amused glance at where his arm was still around her shoulder and he nodded reluctantly as he dropped his arm back to his side, looking guilty.

Teyla smirked as she observed their silent communication, meeting John's questioning gaze with one of her own. Simultaneously, they nodded.

As Major Lorne and his team dialed home, Rodney rolled his eyes at the revelations. "Like I said, typical."

Carson nodded. "Aye, lad. We have really got to find ourselves some girls."

Rodney nodded, then winced. "Not Cadman?"

Carson chuckled. "No, not her. You do realize that this whole episode will only feed the rumors she started with that damn kiss?"

McKay's sigh was melancholy. "Yeah. You don't suppose the Wraith or someone will attack before we get home and everyone will forget about it, do you?"

Carson shook his head dolefully. "No." His eyes lit up. "Although... a secret affair between the leader of Atlantis and her chief military office would take the focus clearly off of us..."

With identical smirks, the two best friends walked through the even horizon.


End file.
